Traces Found Of Chemical In P'burg Water Company Says Levels Are Below Limit

September 02, 1988|by DENNIS KELLY, The Morning Call

Traces of the cleaning agent TCE were found earlier this year in the Garden State Water Co.'s Phillipsburg system, but a company official said treatment has brought the levels below those deemed unsafe by the government.

Trichloroethylene was found to be above the 5 parts-per-billion limit during routine tests of three source wells in March, according to Michael E. Hooker, Garden State Water Co.'s Phillipsburg district manager.

But a second-quarter test has shown levels of the suspected carcinogen to be "well below" the limit, meeting state and federal government regulations, he said.

"We're disinfecting with chlorine and will continue to do so until we're confident we don't have a problem," Hooker said. "From the wells, the water goes to our treatment process plant before going to the reservoir."

All of Phillipsburg, portions of Lopatcong, Pohatcong, and the Stewartsville section of Greenwich Township - about 7,500 customers - are affected and Hooker said they have all been sent letters this week notifying them of the findings.

"We were not required to notify the publicbecause of the low-level of contamination," Hooker said. "We're doing this voluntarily."

He said the water company did not inform the public sooner because it wanted to do more analysis.

New water testing regulations enacted by the state's Department of Environmental Protection this year require testing for eight different compounds on a quarterly basis, Hooker said.

The DEP termed the presence of TCE in one test as a potential problem, not a major one, Hooker added.

After results of the routine March test came back in April, the company began weekly testing of each of the three source wells. The wells are in Lopatcong Township, along the Delaware River in the Marble Hill area.

"We're testing the water as it leaves the reservoir, as it enters the pipes that carry water to the homes of consumers, and at the homes of consumers," Hooker said.

The company also has hired a groundwater geologist to find out where the TCE is coming from, he said.

All tests are not done by municipality, but according to the two water systems Garden State uses. There is a high pressure system for consumers at higher elevations and a low pressure system for customers at lower levels.

The testing and treatment measures taken by Garden State are all approved by the DEP, he said.

"The new regulations also require that we test as the water leaves the reservoir. Previously we just tested at the consumer's tap," he said.

The DEP looks at the average of the quarterly tests to determine if clean water standards are being met, Hooker said. For example, the water company could find a reading for a compound that is high in one quarter but shows a zero reading in the other three quarters and overall be within state and federal regulations.

Garden State was not required to test for TCE before this year, buthas been testing for it voluntarily for several years, according to a brochure that accompanys the letter sent to customers this week.

It also states that the most recent tests in 1987 showed no presence of any compounds. Hooker said the most recent tests this year showed the TCE levels to be acceptable.

He described TCE as an organic compound that dissipates easily into the air when it hits the surface of the water. "But when that happens, air pollution becomes a factor," he said, "The air pollution limit for TCE is 10 parts-per-billion and what we're dissipating is below that."

The state and federal health standards are based on a person drinking two liters (over half a gallon) of water per day for 70 years, according to the brochure. This rate of water consumption is described in the brochure as a "prodigious" (extraordinary) amount.